Glossary of Terms

Cisgender describes a person whose gender identity and gender expression align with sex
assigned at birth. A cisgender man or cisgender woman is thus one whose internal gender
identity matches, and presents itself in accordance with, the externally determined cultural
expectations of the behavior and roles considered appropriate for one’s sex as male or female.
Also called cisgendered (American Psychological Association, 2015a).

Classism are biased attitudes and beliefs that result in, and help to justify, unfair treatment of
individuals or groups because of their socioeconomic grouping. Classism can also be expressed
as public policies and institutional practices that prevent people from breaking out of poverty
rather than ensuring equal economic, social, and educational opportunity (Côté, 2014).

Co-conspirators are individuals who are willing to put something on the line to use their
privilege to disband systems of oppression. In contrast to allyship, co-conspirators do not just
educate themselves about systemic injustice and racism, they take personal risks to pursue
meaningful action (Love, 2019).

Collusion occurs when people act to perpetuate oppression or prevent others from working
to eliminate oppression. Example: able-bodied people who object to strategies for making
buildings accessible because of the expense (Adam et al., 2007).

Colonialism is control by individuals or groups over the territory/behavior of other
individuals or groups. Imperialism refers to the political or economic control, either formally or
informally, and creating an empire (Coulthard, 2014).

Color-Blindness is a racial ideology that assumes the best way to end prejudice and
discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture,
or ethnicity. This ideology is grounded in the belief that race-based differences do not matter
and should not be considered for decisions, impressions, and behaviors. It emphasizes, or
ignores, race and ethnicity, a large part of one’s identity and lived experience. In doing so, it
perpetuates existing racial inequities and denies systematic racism (Plaut et al., 2009).

Color-Evasiveness is a racial ideology that describes the same concept as color-blindness
where individuals reject or minimize the significance of race and/or ethnicity. Color-evasiveness,
however, avoids describing people with disabilities as problematic or deficient by using
blindness as a metaphor for ignorance (Annamma, 2017).

Colorism uses white skin color as the standard. It is the allocation of privilege and favor to
lighter skin colors and disadvantage to darker skin colors. Colorism operates both within and
across racial and ethnic groups (Burton, 2010).

Coming Out refers to voluntarily making public one’s sexual orientation and/or gender
identity (https://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms).

Confirmation Bias is the act of seeking information that supports your viewpoint while
rejecting or ignoring information that opposes your beliefs (Baron, 1988).

Covert Racism is a form of racial discrimination that is disguised and indirect, rather than
public or obvious. Covert racism discriminates against individuals through often evasive or
seemingly passive methods. Since racism is viewed as socially unacceptable by mainstream
society, people engage in covert racism in subtle ways, and therefore it may go unchallenged
or unrecognized (Bonilla-Silva, 1997).

Critical Race Theory considers many of the same issues that conventional civil rights and
ethnic studies take up but places those issues in a broader perspective that includes economics,
history, and even feelings and the unconscious. Unlike traditional civil rights, which embraces
incrementalism and step by step progress, critical race theory questions the very foundations of
the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, enlightenment rationalism, and
principles of constitutional law (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001).

Cross Dresser describes a person who dresses, at least partially, as a member of a gender
other than their assigned sex. The term carries no implications of sexual orientation
(https://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms).

Cultural Appropriation is the theft of cultural elements—including symbols, art, language,
customs, etc.—for one’s own use, commodification, or profit, often without understanding,
acknowledgement, or respect for its value in the original culture. Results from the assumption
of a dominant (i.e., White) culture’s right to take other cultural elements (Cambridge Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus, n.d.).

Cultural Change refers to the stages of development or new patterns of culture that occur
as a response to changing societal conditions. Within an organization, cultural change is a new
method of operating and a reorientation of one’s role and responsibilities in the organization.
Effective cultural change in an organization involves moving the organization toward a new
vision or desired state. This change is influenced by many factors including effective leadership
in all aspects of the change process, intentional alignment of structures, systems, and policies
with the new culture, ensuring staff and stakeholder participation, clear and frequent
communication regarding the cultural change, obtaining feedback and evaluating progress, and
managing any emotional response to the change (Wuthnow, 1992).

Cultural Competence is the ability to honor and respect the beliefs, language,
interpersonal styles, and behaviors of those receiving and providing services. Individuals
practicing cultural competency have knowledge of the intersectionality of social identities and
the multiple axes of oppression that people from different racial, ethnic, and other minoritized
groups face. Individuals striving to develop cultural competence recognize that it is a dynamic,
on-going process that requires a long-term commitment to learning. In the context of
education, cultural competence refers to the ability to successfully teach students who come
from cultures other than one’s own. It entails developing personal and interpersonal awareness
and sensitivities, learning specific bodies of cultural knowledge, and mastering a set of skills for
effective cross-cultural teaching (Moule, 2012).

Cultural Fluency is the ability to effectively interact with people from different cultures,
racial, and ethnic groups. It includes an awareness of how to properly respond to differences in
communication and conflict as well as the appropriate application of respect, empathy,
flexibility, patience, interests, curiosity, openness, the willingness to suspend judgement,
tolerance for ambiguity, and sense of humor (Inoue, 2007).

Cultural Humility is an approach to respectfully engaging others with cultural identities
different from your own and recognizing no cultural perspective is superior to another. The
practice of cultural humility acknowledges systems of oppression and involves critical self-reflection, lifelong learning and growth, a commitment to recognizing and sharing power, and
a desire to work toward institutional accountability (Hook et al., 2013).

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is the capability to adapt, relate and work effectively across
cultures. People with high CQ are not experts in every kind of culture. Instead, they have the
skills to go into new environments with confidence, and to make informed judgments based on
observations and evidence as opposed to stereotypes and biases. They recognize shared
influences among particular groups (Earley & Soon Ang, 2003).

Cultural Misappropriation distinguishes itself from the neutrality of cultural exchange,
appreciation, and appropriation because of the instance of colonialism and capitalism. Cultural
misappropriation occurs when a cultural fixture of a marginalized culture and/or community is
copied, mimicked, or recreated by the dominant culture against the will of the original
community and, above all else, commodified. One can understand the use of “misappropriation”
as a distinguishing tool because it assumes that there are 1) instances of neutral appropriation,
2) the specifically referenced instance is non-neutral and problematic, even if benevolent in
intention, 3) some act of theft or dishonest attribution has taken place, and 4) moral judgement
of the act of appropriation is subjective to the specific culture from which is being engaged
(Vasalou et al., 2014).

Cultural Pluralism is the recognition of the contribution of each group to a common
civilization. It encourages the development of different lifestyles, languages, and convictions. It
strives to create the conditions of harmony and respect within a culturally diverse society (Berry,
1997).

Cultural Representations refer to popular stereotypes, images, frames, and narratives that
are socialized and reinforced by media, language, and other forms of mass communication and
“common sense.” Cultural representations can be positive or negative, but from the perspective
of the dismantling structural racism analysis, too often cultural representations depict people
of color in ways that are dehumanizing, perpetuate inaccurate stereotypes, and have the overall
effect of allowing unfair treatment within the society as a whole to seem fair, or ‘natural’
(Jackson & Hogg, 2010).

Cultural Safety is a culturally safe environment is physically, socially, emotionally, and
spiritually safe. There is recognition of and respect for the cultural identities of others, without
challenge, or denial of an individual’s identity, who they are, or what they need. Culturally unsafe
environments diminish, demean, or disempower the cultural identity and well-being of an
individual (https://www.ontario.ca/document/data-standards-identification-and-monitoringsystemic-racism/glossary) .

Culture is the values, beliefs, traditions, behavioral norms, linguistic expression, knowledge,
memories, and collective identities that are shared by a group of people and give meaning to
their social environments. Culture is learned and inherited behavior that distinguishes members
of one group from another group. Culture is not static and can change over time (Matsumoto
& Juang, 2017).